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Sunday, March 14, 2010

I Hate It When Things Peak and Branding Mommies Leave Me in the Dust

You may have seen two articles in the mainstream media this week about blogging. The first was on ABCNews.com about whether blogging will soon be obsolete, having been replaced by quickie updates on Twitter and Facebook.

Among the reasons those in this age group give, is that they can say what they want immediately and without writing 4 paragraphs. They are not passionate about the creative part of blogging, feel it takes too much effort and that they do not receive immediate feedback like on Twitter and Facebook. Also, it requires more thinking and many have come to realize it takes hours and hours of work every day to make any money from it (for those interested in going that route). As one of the commenters said, youth today have the intention span of a gnat, so it is not surprising that many quit after a few months of blogging.

One good sign, though is that in my age group (the out of touch old fart group) - blogging is growing in popularity (from 7% to 11% (of American aduts) in the same time period)

Last week I was tweeting with someone whose blog I had read in the past. I clicked through to see what she had been up to - only to discover that she stopped blogging in July '09. When I asked her if she missed it, she tweeted back that she missed the people, not the blogging.

I'll admit that personally it is difficult not to look at blog stats and for those stats to be a factor in whether to continue blogging. Let's face it, there are many many other things we could be doing, some of which may turn out to be more fulfilling in the long run...

One segment that continues to thrive, though, is mommy bloggers, many of whom attended Bloggy Bootcamp last week in NYC. The article in the NY Times presents a contradictory picture, on one hand all sorts of amazing stories on how well several mommy bloggers have done, one getting 32,000 pageviews a month. (Let's just say the day Carma Sez gets 32,000 pageviews I will be celebrating with prune juice in the nursing home) - and on the other hand, titling the article: "Honey, Don’t Bother Mommy. I’m Too Busy Building My Brand" - OUCH!

Do you think you'll still be blogging years from now?

P.S. I took artistic license with the photo - VC is really only 14 (but playing a member of the 18-29 group). Plus, his hair is not greasy. I coaxed him into doing this photoshoot after a two hour sweaty juggling session....

42 comments:

I just thought of that dreaded interview question "where do you see yourself in 5, 10 years from now?" I can never give a good answer for that either.

I personally cannot stand twitter or facebook (no offense to those who use either). I like blogging because I can practice writing skills, attempt to be creative and establish an online friendship or two or three...I don't see how new friendships can come out of tweeting or facebook, but others manage to I guess. I've seen some really meaningful and inspirational posts on blogger, I can't same the same for any twitter updates or facebook walls.

I have thought about giving up blogging, but not for the reasons the youngins have given.

I'd like to think I will still be blogging several years from now but who knows? I do use Facebook, too, but I just can't get in to Twitter.

As for the whole "mommy blog" thing, well, you know I just blogged about that the other day. I hate the way blogs have become so commercialized, and the whole "mommy blog" trend is really perpetuating that.

God who knows where I'll be tomorrow?! Years from now…I can’t wrap my head around that! I have to say that my blog has given me an outlet I never could have dreamt of so as long as I continue to enjoy it I'll do it. But once it looses its pizzazz I will stop. I actually closed my stats so that I don't see them when I am at my blog because honestly I could totally get all wrapped up in that crap so it's best if I just keep away.

I am going through phases with my blogging. Sometimes I wake up with post ideas and sometimes I don't want to see a computer.

I truly enjoy the exchange I get from my usual blog friends who comment on mostly every post. So I think I may be blogging in the future for sure.

I recently lost a follower. However I think because he was a twenty-something daddy & husband whose wife shut him down when she look a gander at my blog. Mind you the young man and I never had any exchanges at all. Chicks are territorial about their men, and I get that. It's cool, I was flattered that he stumbled upon me and read me for a while. As for insulting the mommy bloggers, no worries. People come and go in and out of your life. Yours is a humor blog so if that dropped follower was insulted or whatever it just meant you hit a nerve of truth with her.

Well I'm a fellow member of the Old Fart category and for the time being, I love the exercise my brain gets from blogging. I can't see myself stopping really any time in the extremely near future, but I'm sure it's not something that I'm going to be able to keep up forever. I've got to run out of things to talk about at some point, right?

I think I will be blogging in X number of years from now, only because it is my form of "scrapbooking" for my kids and I want to try to record everything they do. Although I do love me some twitter too! :)

I think the Mommy Blogging thing can get a little out of hand. I see a few mommy bloggers who spend WAY too much time online and it just makes me sick. WHAT is the real reason for staying home, seriously...you kids or your computer! There is NO amount of money that would make me not regret spending that time with my babies. But in the end their kids will figure it out when mommy has her computer out all day...very sad.

oh you're so nice to add those notes! don't sweat the 1 follower...I have unfollowed people and it wasn't anything to do with a specific post or getting offended. Sometimes I just realize that the blogger's style isn't for me or other reasons that aren't personal :-)

I do plan to be blogging for a long time to come. I have done the myspace,facebook,twitter...route and I didn't feel like i could convey my creativity well or see what other amazing talent is out there through those sites. I am certainly not bagging on them I just find this to be such a better outlet for my creativity :)

I'm an Old Fart Blogger who will definitely be blogging until they pry my cold dead fingers from off my keyboard. As an unreformed English major, I enjoy the creative outlet and, when a blog post touches someone or even gives them a laugh and they give me feedback, well that's all the better. As you can see, I'm not even expecting any money for this.

Facebook, I dip into occasionally, mostly to see what far-flung friends are up to. My posts are usually just to alert people of a new blog post. Twitter. Never used it much and I'm using it less and less. I don't think I've done a Tweet in months that hasn't been an automatically generated Tweet from my blog.

I don't know how long I'll stick with blogging. I enjoy keeping my scrapbook of web memorabilia that interests me and refer back to it surprisingly often when I'm doing other things. I also love the fact that I've made friends through it across the globe. On the down-side, I'm also aware that it takes up a ridiculous amount of my day when I could be out actually *achieving* something in the fresh air!

well.. i actually DO fall into the 18-29 cat.. and i won't lie, i think- like others do too- that blogging CAN be hard sometimes.. sometimes i wanna pull my hair out for NOT being able to come up with a good topic.. BUT, it IS rewarding, it makes my head think, and kinda keeps me engaged!

I'm so glad you cleared that up about the Hair thing...although it looks totally fine not greasy...he's cute..!! I dont know about blogging ..I started it as an art blog and then read some funny stuff..and thought that so many bloggers were really witty and interesting...now I love hearing funny stories and antics that we all share but never really talk about in everyday life..this is the perfect venue for creative thought and sharing those things you just dont talk about with everyone..ya know.. as for Twitter...naaahh..dont really care about it..but it does satisfy the need of the teen or young adult that just needs to make a statement...besides Carma,how would you sum up all of your witty and interesting stuff in less than 160 words..we would all be missing out..!

I really enjoy blogging and reading blogs. I think that I will still be blogging in 5 years, but maybe just not as much as I do now. It all depends on where life takes me. For now, I couldn't imagine deleting my blog. I think it would make me cry!

I saw the second article, but not the first. Its weird how mainstream media seems to want to bash moms. What's up? Are they nervous? I do both. I'm a blogger and a Twitter addict. Facebook...meh. I could take it or leave it sometimes.

I do both blogging and tweeting. I have yet to make friendships from tweeting, so I must be doing something wrong on Twitter but I do like Twitter in it's own way. I blog for me. I use it to get things off my chest, so I have no idea how long it will last and I love to read blogs and comment and make new on-line friends. I will enjoy it as long as it lasts!!!

hmmm, I think so. I've been blogging a lot less which has made me feel much better about myself and about my role as a mother. I read the NY times article and had mixed feelings about it all. I do think that blogging can take over and kids can be neglected in the process of trying to be a successful blogger. I've decided not to worry about the numbers anymore. Since I've been blogging less, the numbers have of course gone down, but have decided to let the NUMBERS go. Just causes stress for me.

I imagine I will still be blogging at least until my youngest kids are older. (my twins are 3). I have 3 kids ready to graduate hs soon and who knows where life will take us then. But, for now, as a homeschooling mama to 9 kids, blogging it a great outlet for me :)

I don't twitter or FB, gave up on those a long time ago...I love blogging but have slowed down quite a bit because it was just taking too much time! I like where I'm at now and love that I'm creating a sort of scrapbook of all the little things.

I've been wrestling with this question for some time. I finally decided that I blog for myself, and to hell with the stats! And the headline of that NYT article misrepresents what the article actually says. I didn't find the actual article offensive, but the headline writer clearly was trying to yank somebody's chain. And I have to tell ya, having been in a high school for 16 years--I'm not surprised that the 18-29 year-olds are leaving blogging. Many of them can't read-nor write-anyway!

What an interesting post... I was just wondering recently if blogging is only a trend that will disappear in a few more years, but I didn't think it could be replaced by Twitter or Facebook. Tweeting is so much more impersonal. I have a Twitter and Facebook account, and must admit I don't use Twitter as much as I first did. I like FB just to see what my friends are up to... but it could never replace blogging. I think FB is a different entity and serves a different purpose.

As far as "will I still be blogging 5 years from now?"... that I don't know. I love to blog, but like others, I have days where I don't want to look at my computer. Since it's snowing today, I'm posting on my blog and catching up on blog visits. But visiting every person who comments on your blog can take hours and hours and hours of your time!!!!

I think I will be blogging at the pace I am blogging 5 years from now... only the only people reading it will be my Mom and Grandma, and maybe a friend or two- I blogged for 2 years before I tried to find an auudience. I just did it for me then, and I feel that same way now, with a few exceptions of friends I have made blogging (you are one of them, obviously!) I'm going on year 4 as it is right now.